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Most people had lost someone while living in Giha village. The earthquakes had caused a lot of cave-ins. And if it wasn’t the earthquakes, some people had tried to go to the surface and died as a result.
Kamina wasn’t an exception. His father left for the surface when he was younger, and his mother had unfortunately died when he was very young as well. Your own parents died due to the very same earthquake that caused the cave-in that killed Simon’s parents.
The three of you: Simon, Kamina and you, had become very close because of this. Kamina was obviously the leader of your little gang and he often tried to rope in more people because of it. And after a while, you started to admire him for all of this.
But your admiration for Kamina turned into something different. No longer did you see him as “big bro” and more in a “who is this hunk who replaced itty bitty Kamina” kind of way.
Kamina wasn’t blind to you changing in front of his eyes too. You weren’t a little girl chasing after him anymore. You were a lovely young woman and any man would be lucky to have you in their life. He chooses to try and ignore his growing feelings for you in an attempt to keep your friendship sacred.
But fuck, it was tearing him apart inside. And him wanting to go to the surface, he needed to make sure you’d follow him up there. So he tries his best to come up with the proper way to make this proposal.
He searches through some of the things his father and mother left behind. There are only just a few mementos. He looks at the picture of his lovely mother; the only thing he has left of her. Then under a few other things, he finds a beautifully preserved flower. It was pink with long thread-like stamens, as well as spidery seed pods. When he flips over the flower, there’s a card.
“To my lovely beautiful darling Wenny,
This is the only thing I can give to you to show you my love is never ending. Please remember that this flower means ‘Elope with me’. That is what we did, even when everyone seemed against us. Our love will never die, just like this flower.
Love,
Joe”
Kamina is surprised. He never knew that his father had given this to his mother. It was a lovely flower, though a little odd looking. Most women probably preferred other things, but given that you both live underground, you’ll probably just love the fact that he gave you a flower.
He takes the flower and makes his way over to you. Despite his mostly cocky attitude and confidence skyrocketing most days, Kamina finds himself very nervous. He sees you in your room, and he knocks on the rock.
“Knock, knock.” He says sarcastically and you laugh.
“Hey Kamina, come in.”
Kamina steps inside, pulling the curtain to shut your room. He then sits on your bed with you, unsure of how to even come out and say what he means. YOu notice he’s fidgeting with something in his hands, so you gently place your own hands on his.
“Penny for your thoughts.” you say softly, pulling him from his nervousness.
He hands you the preserved flower. You’re in awe of the beautiful and unique little thing. Your eyes widen when you notice the card in the back. Kamina takes your hands in his and he’s smiling that overly confident smile.
“Listen to me,” he starts. “One of these days, I’m going up to the surface. And when that day comes, sooner or later, I want you up there with me!”
You blush. “Oh Kamina, you know I’m going to the surface with you! I wouldn’t dream of staying in this place without you.”
This is when he cups your cheeks and pulls you in for a sweet kiss. Your heart races and you melt into his sweet embrace. Kamina holds you close to his chest.
“That flower means to elope…so when we get outta here, let’s do it! Let’s elope!”
His words ring in your ears. You can’t believe he’s truly saying this. You’ve been in love with Kamina for so long, and to finally have him make some sort of move on you, it’s making you feel very warm and fuzzy inside.
“Yes, we’ll elope. On the surface!” You say finally. You give him another kiss and you two swear on it.
But when you two get to the surface, things are completely different than you envisioned. Of course, Yoko is so beautiful and she captures the eye of your beau.
She’s tough, she doesn’t put up with his shit. The way she charms him, it breaks your heart. You keep the little preserved flower, hoping that one day, you will meet someone who’s made you feel the way that Kamina once did.
Months go by after making your way up to the surface. Things are different now. You know that you don’t have a chance with Kamina. Even if you still have his gift, you know that you could never interfere with his blossoming love with Yoko.
And after that close call with Thymilph, your heart ached for the man you loved even more. Every day after him almost losing his life, you spend every single second at his bedside.
You take control over his care. Something about this really warms his heart. To see you here at his side after he almost lost his life. Kamina clings to the little glimmer of hope that he’ll finally make it through. He know that you being around really makes him feel like he can get healthy and lively again.
Then one day, you come in and you’ve got a big bouquet of flowers in your hand. You place them in a vase next to the window. Kamina looks over and he notices that the flowers look very familiar.
“Are those…” he begins then he walks over to them.
“Cleome. They are cleome flowers.” You say softly.
He gets closer and takes a deep inhale of the flowers. The scent is so nice and fresh, making him feel happy. He looks at you and smiles.
“Kamina, I—”
But he interrupts you with a deep kiss. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you closer to his body. You hold him close to yourself, deepening the kiss as well. Then you rub your nose against his before leaning your forehead to his.
“I was foolish,” Kamina explains. “Foolish to get wrapped up in the excitement of being on the surface without seeing how you felt.”
“Kamina, I’m fine.”
“No! No, I completely ignored your wants, desires and feelings for my own selfish gain.” He kisses you once more. “But not this time. I want to know how you feel.”
You take a deep breath and then you explain how seeing him get so close to Yoko had made you jealous. Though you tried hard to push your feelings for him away, you just couldn’t do it permanently.
“Baby, I’m crushed. I shouldn’t have made you feel like second best.” He says solemnly. He gently caresses your cheek. “Could you ever forgive me?”
You giggle softly. “Kamina, what do you think the flowers are for? I forgive you…and I love you.”
Kamina grins and he spins you around in his arms; it’s a testament to his strength now that he has healed completely. He kisses you over and over, the grin never leaving his face.
“Those flowers mean elope, right? Then…elope with me, Kamina.”
He smirks, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”